Global experience is that with economic development and empowerment of women, the tendency to keep families small increases. Due to this phenomenon, the expected birth rate in the southern states is 2.1 per woman. It has decreased more than the number of children.
It is unfortunate that states have now started deciding their policies on very important issues like population policy, unannounced. It is possible that the political situation prevailing in the country is responsible for this, yet the policy on such questions should be national in nature. The initiative was taken by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu did it. Then that point was put forward with more clarity by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin. Since Naidu is part of the central ruling NDA, perhaps he kept the intention behind his appeal to the people of the state to produce more children vague. There is no such obstacle in front of Stalin, hence he bluntly said that the political representation of Tamil Nadu should not decrease, hence it is necessary that the people of the state produce more children.
Such a thing is surprising in a developing country like India which is currently not facing the problem of population decline. Of course, the southern states have made better progress than the rest of the country on development parameters. Experience around the world is that with economic development and empowerment of women, the tendency to keep families small increases. Due to this phenomenon, the birth rate in the southern states has dropped more than expected – 2.1 children per woman. On the other hand, the birth rate is still high in the northern states – especially Bihar, UP, Madhya Pradesh etc. After the Modi government came to power, population has become a major criterion in transferring funds from the central treasury to the states.
On the other hand, the ban on delimitation of Lok Sabha seats will be lifted in 2026. Then state wise seats can be distributed again on the basis of population. The southern states are right to fear that this will reduce their political weight. But such problems can be solved through mutual trust and communication. Of course, the responsibility of taking the initiative lies with the Centre. However, this problem cannot be solved by deciding state-wise population policy. It will have an adverse impact on the development goals of the entire country. Therefore, there is a need for a national debate on population policy, in which the views of the southern states should be given adequate consideration.